Reviews > W.

Oliver Stone’s biopic on the 43rd president. Now one might argue George Bush is the epitomy of wasted power. He may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth but he dowsed it in alcohol & threw it in the garbage, consuming help, privilige, & opportunities until the well went dry. Regardless of your political views W is rooted in quite compelling material.

The start of the film focuses on George’s fun years of boozing & drugs. It is a comical look at a man completely off the rails & an informing one for those who only know the basic outline of Bush’s lost years. That’s a far & few between given the current offices talent for withholding information. We see the pre President doing unpresidented things. Josh Brolin is captivating exceling with energy as a young Dubya barhopping, womanizing, & lands some time in the slammer.

Stone in these early scenes intelligently establishes the relationship between Bush junior & senior George HW. Played with no holds barred apathy by James Cromwell. Bush sr is less than impressed with his reckless eldest & his influence turns out to be both blessing & curse for Dubya a heavy theme Stone shows well. The film is quite hilarious & will have you laughing out loud & probably asking yourself how in the world did we elect this man for two terms. But after watching it’s hard to feel sorry for this man because he wrote his own legacy well way before the second term.

Neal
Film Journalist